UC-NRLF 


GIFT  OF 
Mr .H.L.Leupp 


THE  PENSION  ROLL  AS  AFFECTED  BY  THE 
WAR  WITH  SPAIN  IN  1898 


PREPARED  BY  THE  WAR  COLLEGE  DIVISION,  GENERAL  STAFF  CORPS 

AS   A    SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE    STATEMENT    OF    A    PROPER   MILITARY 

POLICY  FOR  THE  UNITED  STATES 


WCD  9290-3 


ARMY  WAR  COLLEGE  :  WASHINGTON 

NOVEMBER,   1915 


525 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1916 


•V* 


WAS  DEPARTMENT, 

Document  No.  525. 

Office  of  the  Chief  of  Staff. 


SYNOPSIS. 


Page. 

1.  Inception  of  the  practice  of  pensioning  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors 5 

2.  The  War  with  Spain — Beginning  and  duration 6 

3.  Forces  employed 6 

4.  Total  enlistments  and  reenlistments — Number  of  individuals  in  service. . .          7 

(a)  Regular  Army  enlistments  and  reenlistments 7 

(6)  Volunteers  of  1898 8 

(c)  Volunteers  of  1899 9 

Total  for  War  with  Spain 9 

5.  Number  of  individuals  who  acquired  an  actual  pensionable  status  by  date 

of  discharge  or  muster  out 9 

6.  Number  of  pension  applications  filed 10 

(a)  War  of  the  Rebellion  (first  seven  years) 11 

(6)  War  with  Spain  (first  seven  years) 11 

Deductions  drawn  from  data  in  regard  to  the  10  regiments  of  1898  vol- 
unteers         11 

7.  Number  of  pensioners  on  the  roll 15 

8.  Percentage  of  pensioners  on  the  rolls  16  years  after  the  beginning  of  hos- 

tilities         15 

(a)  War  of  the  Rebellion 16 

(6)  War  with  Spain 16 

9.  Amounts  disbursed  for  pensions 16 

10.  Probable  future  cost  of  the  pension  list  for  the  War  with  Spain 17 

Table  No.  1,  showing  applications  filed,  pensions  granted,  total  pensioners, 

amount  paid  for  pensions  from  1899  to  1914,  inclusive  (for  all  wars) 18 

Table  No.  2,  showing  applications  filed,  pensions  granted,  number  pensioners, 
paid  for  pensions  from  1899  to  1914,  inclusive  (War  with  Spain) 19 

Table  No.  3,  showing  applications  filed  from  1899  to  1913,  inclusive  (War  with 
Spain) 19 

Table  No.  4,  showing  certain  data  for  ten  1898  volunteer  regiments  (War  with 
Spain) 20 

Table  No.  5,  showing  claims  filed,  claims  allowed,  and  percentage  of  claims 
allowed  to  claims  filed  from  1862  to  1868,  inclusive,  War  of  the  Rebellion,  and 
from  1899  to  1905,  inclusive,  War  with  Spain 21 

Table  No.  6,  showing  number  of  pensioners  for  the  Army  and  Navy  from  1898 
to  1914,  inclusive  (War  with  Spain),  and  number  of  pensioners  and  percentage 
of  pensioners  (War  with  Spain)  to  total  (all  wars) 22 

Table  No.  7,  showing  pensions  for  the  Army  and  Navy  from  1899  to  1914,  inclu- 
sive (War  with  Spain),  and  administration  and  maintenance  from  1899  to 
1914,  inclusive  (all  wars) 22 

Table  No.  8,  showing  number  of  invalid  pensioners,  per  cent  to  strength,  widows, 
etc.,  per  cent  to  strength,  per  cent  total  pensioners  to  strength  from  1902  *b 
1914,  inclusive  (War  with  Spain) 23 

Table  No.  9,  showing  number  of  pensioners,  cost  of  administration,  per  capita 
cost  per  pensioner  from  1899  to  1914,  inclusive  (all  wars),  and  number  of  pen- 
sioners and  cost  of  administration  (War  with  Spain) 23 

Table  No.  10,  showing  (a)  invalids,  (6)  widows,  etc..  (c)  gain,  (d)  loss,  from  1899 
to  1914,  inclusive  (War  with  Spain),  and  total  pensioners  on  roll  (all  wars)..        24 
625  (3) 


THE  PENSION  ROLL  AS  AFFECTED  BY  THE  WAR  WITH 

SPAIN  IN  1898. 


1.  INCEPTION  OF  THE  PRACTICE  OF  PENSIONING  DISABLED 
SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS. 

The  practice  of  pensioning  soldiers  incapacitated  by  injuries  re- 
ceived in  active  service  and  of  providing  relief  for  their  dependent 
families  began  long  before  the  Eevolutionary  War.  In  1636  the 
Pilgrims  at  Plymouth  enacted  a  law  providing  that  any  man  sent 
forth  as  a  soldier  and  who  returned  maimed  should  be  maintained 
competently  by  the  colony  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  1644 
the  Virginia  Assembly  passed  a  disability  pension  law,  and  later  a 
provision  for  the  relief  of  indigent  members  of  the  families  of  sol- 
diers who  should  be  killed.  In  1676  a  standing  committee  of  the 
General  Court  of  Massachusetts  Bay  held  regular  meetings  to  hear 
the  applications  of  wounded  soldiers  for  relief.  After  the  union  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  and  Plymouth  Colonies,  under  the  charter  of  1.691, 
the  Province  continued  to  make  provision  for  the  relief  of  disabled 
soldiers  out  of  the  public  treasury.  In  1718  Ehode  Island  enacted 
a  pension  law  which  provided  that  every  officer,  soldier,  or  sailor 
employed  in  the  service  of  the  colony,  who  should  be  disabled  from 
getting  a  livelihood  for  himself  and  family  or  other  dependent  rela- 
tives, should  have  his  wounds  looked  after  at  the  colony's  charge, 
and  should  have  an  annual  pension  for  the  maintenance  of  himself 
and  his  dependents.  This  law  further  provided  that  if  any  person 
who  had  the  charge  of  maintaining  a  wife,  children,  parents,  or 
other  dependent  relatives  should  be  slain  in  the  colony's  service,  these 
relatives  should  be  maintained  while  unable  to  provide  for  them- 
selves. 

The  first  national  law  on  pensions  was  passed  August  26,  1776, 
long  before  the  independence  of  the  Colonies  was  established.  This 
law  provided  half  pay  for  life  or  during  disability  to  any  officer, 
soldier,  or  sailor  losing  a  limb  in  any  engagement,  or  being  so  dis- 
abled in  the  service  of  the  United  States  as  to  render  him  incapable 
of  earning  a  livelihood.  On  August  24,  1780,  a  resolution  was 
adopted  extending  the  above  half -pay  provision  to  the  widows  or 
orphan  children  of  such  officers  as  had  died  or  should  die  in  the 
service.  This  was  the  first  national  law  in  behalf  of  widows  and 
orphans.  On  April  23,  1782,  Congress  provided  that  soldiers  who 
were  sick  or  wounded  or  unfit  for  duty  should  receive  a  discharge 
and  be  pensioned  at  the  rate  of  $5  per  month. 

525 


6 

It  is,  therefore,  evident  that  the  feeling  that  soldiers  incapacitated 
in  the  service  of  the  Government  should  be  maintained  thereafter  at 
the  expense  of  the  Government  is  not  of  recent  growth,  but  existed 
in  the  very  early  days  of  the  colonization  of  this  country. 

2.  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN— BEGINNING  AND  DURATION. 

The  War  with  Spain  began,  officially,  on  April  21, 1898,  and  ceased, 
officially,  on  April  11,  1899.  Actual  hostilities  were  in  progress  be- 
tween the  land  forces  during  this  period  as  follows : 

Cuba,  June  24  to  July  11, 1898. 

Philippine  Islands,  July  31  to  August  13, 1898. 

Porto  Rico,  July  25  to  August  12, 1898. 

On  February  4, 1899,  the  Philippine  insurrection  began  and  hostili- 
ties continued  until  April  27,  1902.  During  this  period  the  Boxer 
outbreak  in  China  occurred,  necessitating  combined  operations  on  the 
part  of  the  powers  concerned  for  the  relief  of  their  legations  at 
Peking.  The  actual  hostilities  in  which  our  land  forces  took  part 
in  this  campaign  lasted  from  July  13  to  August  13,  1900. 

It  thus  appears  that  active  hostilities  participated  in  by  our  troops 
were  in  progress  from  June  24,  1898,  to  April  27,  1902,  a  period  of 
3  years,  10  months,  and  6  days  (1,401  days).  The  Philippine  in- 
surrection ended  officially  on  July  4,  1902.  The  official  period  of 
hostilities,  then,  extended  from  the  beginning  of  the  War  with  Spain 
to  the  end  of  the  Philippine  insurrection,  a  period  of  4  years,  2 
months,  and  14  days  (1,535  days). 

In  the  records  of  the  Bureau  of  Pensions  this  entire  period  is 
considered,  so  far  as  pensions  are  concerned,  as  the  War  with  Spain, 
and  all  applications  for  pensions  for  disabilities  incurred  during  the 
period  from  April  21,  1898,  to  July  4,  1902,  are  credited  to  the 
War  with  Spain. 

3.  FORCES  EMPLOYED. 

The  first  Volunteer  regiment  for  service  in  the  War  with  Spain 
was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  on  May  1,  1898, 
and  the  last  Volunteer  (United  States)  regiment  was  mustered  out 
of  service  on  July  25,  1901.  There  were  thus  Volunteers  in  service 
continuously  for  a  period  of  3  years,  2  months,  and  25  days  (1,181 
days). 

At  .first  glance  it  would  appear  that  the  number  of  troops  em- 
ployed in  the  War  with  Spain  could  easily  be  ascertained  from 
official  records.  This  is,  however,  far  from  the  truth.  For  the  pur- 
poses of  this  paper  we  must  know  the  number  of  individuals  em- 
ployed during  the  official  period  of  the  war  in  order  to  ascertain  the 
number  of  pensionable  persons  coming  into  existence  during  that 
period.  A  man  who  has  served  an  enlistment  in  one  organization 

525 


and  then  reenlisted  in  that  or  some  other  organization  constitutes 
one  possible  pensionable  individual.  But  our  records  may  show  this 
individual  as  two,  or  even  more,  since  no  tabulations  have  yet  been 
made  which  will  show  how  many  of  the  reenlistments  in  the  Eegular 
Army  were  by  individuals  who  had  had  previous  service  in  some 
organization  during  the  period  covered  by  the  War  with  Spain. 
Nor  has  any  tabulation  been  yet  made  that  will  show  how  many 
men  enlisting  in  the  Regular  Army  had  had  previous  service  in  the 
Volunteers,  nor  men  enlisting  in  the  Volunteers  who  had  had  pre- 
vious service  in  the  Regular  Army  or  Volunteers.  So  it  is  evident 
that  it  will  be  impossible,  with  the  data  available,  to  ascertain  ex- 
actly how  many  individuals  were  employed  in  the  War  with  Spain. 
To  take  the  total  enlistments  and  reenlistments  for  the  Regular 
Army  the  force  in  service  on  May  1,  1898,  the  totals  for  the  Volun- 
teers as  shown  by  the  muster-out  rolls,  would  give  us  a  total  of 
451,970,  which  is,  of  course,  vastly  in  excess  of  the  number  of  indi- 
viduals employed  in  the  War  with  Spain. 

The  published  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Pensions  give  an  estimate 
of  the  individuals  employed  in  the  land  forces  in  the  War  with 
Spain  as  follows: 

War  with  Spain   (proper) 312,000 

Philippine  insurrection 139,  438 

Boxer  trouble  in  China 6,  713 

As  no  tabulations  covering  this  subject  have  yet  been  made  in  the 
office  of  The  Adjutant  General  it  is  not  known  by  what  method 
these  figures  were  arrived  at.  The  total,  458,151,  is  undoubtedly  too 
great.  Even  if  we  deduct  the  6,713  men  credited  to  the  "  Boxer  " 
troubles  in  China  (all  of  whom  are  accounted  for,  of  course,  in  the 
Philippine  force)  we  will  have  a  total  of  452,561,  which  is  still 
much  too  great. 

4.  TOTAL   ENLISTMENTS   AND   REENLISTMENTS— NUMBER   OF 
INDIVIDUALS  IN  SERVICE. 

From  the  published  records  of  The  Adjutant  General's  Office  we 
find  the  following: 

(a)  Regular  Army  enlistments  and  reenlistments: 

May  1,  1898,  to  June  30,  1898 18,  880 

June  30,  1898,  to  June  30,  1899 62,  175 

June  30,  1899,  to  June  30,  1900 19,  549 

June  30,  1900,  to  June  30,  1901 22,  479 

June  30,  1901,  to  June  30,  1902 36,  964 

Total  enlistments  and  reenlistments 160,  047 

Strength  Regular  Army  May  1,  1898 30,  268 

Total  Regular  Army 190,  315 

But  we  know  that  this  number  does  not  give  us  the  actual  number 
of  individuals  employed  in  the  Regular  Army,  since  it  contains 

525 


8 

reenlistments  and  a  certain  number  of  men  who  had  seen  previous 
service  in  the  1898  Volunteers.  Without  tabulated  data  we  can  only 
guess  at  what  the  actual  number  of  individuals  serving  in  the 
Regular  Army  during  the  period  of  the  War  with  Spain  really  was ; 
but  it  is  believed  that  even  a  guess  will  bring  us  nearer  the  truth 
than  to  take  the  figures  as  they  stand. 

The  strength  of  the  Regular  Army  on  May  1,  1898,  was  30,268. 
The  total  number  of  enlistments  and  reenlistments  between  May  1 
and  June  30,  1898,  was  18,880.  This  gives  us  a  total  for  the  Regular 
Army  on  June  30,  1898,  counting  enlistments  and  reenlistments, 
of  49,148.  The  total  enlistments  and  reenlistments  between  June 
30,  1898,  and  June  30,  1902,  was  141,167.  This  number  includes 
many  reenlistments  and  a  certain  number  of  ex- Volunteers  of  1898. 
From  the  records  of  The  Adjutant  General's  Office  we  find  that  the 
largest  force  in  the  Regular  Army  for  any  one  month  during  the 
period  between  June  30,  1898,  and  June  30,  1902,  was  88,362.  While 
this  number  contains  many  reenlistments  and  a  certain  proportion 
of  ex- Volunteers  of  1898,  there  were  also  during  this  period  a  total 
of  78,561  men  killed,  died,  discharged,  retired,  and  deserted,  whose 
places  had  to  be  filled.  It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that  if  we 
estimate  that  two-thirds  of  the  men  enlisted  in  the  Regular  Army 
during  this  period  represent  the  number  of  individuals  in  service 
who  had  not  had  previous  service  during  the  War  with  Spain,  we 
will  be  not  far  from  the  truth.  This  would  give  us  94,112.  We 
would  have,  therefore,  for  the  Regular  Army  for  the  period  from 
April  21, 1898,  to  July  4,  1902,  a  total  of  about  143,360  individuals. 

Another  method  of  estimating  the  number  of  individuals  employed 
in  the  Regular  Army  was  as  follows : 

Original  enlistments  of  1896  to  serve  until  1898-99 5,  676 

Original  enlistments  of  1897  to  serve  until  1899-1900 5,  332 

Original  enlistments  of  1898  to  serve  until  1900-1 24,  248 

Original  enlistments  of  1899  to  serve  until  1901-2 43,  780 

Original  enlistments  of  1900  to  serve  until  1902-3 15,  588 

Original  enlistments  of  1901  to  serve  until  1903-4 25,  688 

Original  enlistments  of  1902  to  serve  until  1904-5--  26,  026 


Total 146,  338 

A  mean  of  the  results  arrived  at  by  the  two  methods  would  give 
us  144,849,  which  is  perhaps  nearer  the  truth  than  either  result 
taken  separately  and  as  near  the  actual  number  as  we  can  arrive 
with  the  data  now  at  our  disposal. 

When  we  come  to  the  Volunteers  our  data  are  better,  but  still 
by  no  means  complete. 

The  muster-out  rolls  of  volunteer  organizations  show  the  number 
of  all  individuals  who  at  any  time  served  therein. 

(b)  Volunteers  of  1898. 

As  there  were  no  reenlistments  in  the  1898  volunteer  organizations, 
and  as  there  were  no  men  in  these  organizations  who  had  had  pre- 
525 


9 

vious  service  in  the  War  with  Spain,  the  totals  as  shown  by  the 
muster-out  rolls  will  give  us  the  number  of  individuals  serving 
therein.  This  number  was  223,235. 

(c)  Volunteers  of  1899. 

The  muster-out  rolls  of  the  organizations  of  1899  (the  United 
States  Volunteers)  show  a  total  of  38,420  men  who  served  in  these 
organizations.  However,  this  number  contains  a  large  number  of 
men  who  had  had  previous  service  in  the  War  with  Spain,  so  that 
we  can  not  use  this  figure  as  it  stands. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  there  was  a  large  number 
of  men  in  these  organizations  who  had  previously  served  either  in 
the  1898  volunteers  or  in  the  Regular  Army  during  the  War  with 
Spain  period.  Just  what  this  number  was  we  have  no  means  of  tell- 
ing with  certainty,  since  no  tabulation  from  the  records  on  the  sub- 
ject has  yet  been  made.  In  the  report  of  The  Adjutant  General's 
Office  for  1901  it  is  estimated  that  at  least  65  per  cent  of  the  volun- 
teers raised  in  1899  (United  States  Volunteers)  had  had  previous 
service  during  the  War  with  Spain.  If  we  accept  this  statement  as 
a-ccurate  we  will  have  to  deduct  the  number  corresponding  to  this 
percentage  from  the  total  number  of  1899  volunteers.  This  would, 
then,  give  us  only  13,447  individuals  in  these  organizations  who  had 
not  seen  previous  service  and  who  had,  therefore,  not  already  been 
counted  either  in  the  Regular  Army  or  in  the  1898  volunteers. 

As  a  result  of  all  our  estimates  and  guesses,  then,  we  have  the 
following : 

Total  number  of  individuals  employed  in  the  Regular  Army 144,  849 

Total  number  of  individuals  employed  in  the  1898  Volunteers 223,  235 

Total  number  of  individuals  employed  in  the  1899  Volunteers 13,  447 

Total  for  the  War  with  Spain 381,  531 

The  charge  has  been  made  many  times  that  the  number  of  applica- 
tions for  pensions  filed  by  survivors  of  the  War  with  Spain  or  by 
their  dependents  was  unduly  large  in  comparison  with  the  forces 
employed  and  with  the  battle  casualties.  Let  us  see  to  what  extent 
this  charge  is  justified.  In  order  to  make  any  comparisons  with  other 
wars  we  must  endeavor  to  arrive  at  the  total  number  of  possible 
pensioners. 

5.  NUMBER  OF  INDIVIDUALS  WHO  ACQUIRED  AN  ACTUAL  PEN- 
SIONABLE  STATUS  BY  DATE  OF  DISCHARGE  OR  MUSTER-OUT. 

It  is  evident  that  the  "  dependents  "  of  those  men  who  were  killed 
or  who  died  in  service  and  those  men  themselves  who  were  dis- 
charged for  disability  or  found  with  disability  upon  muster-out, 
acquired  an  actual  pensionable  status. 
30669°— No.  525—16 2 


10 

The  records  of  The  Adjutant  General's  Office  show  that  the  total 
mortality  from  all  causes  for  the  period  May  1,  1898,  to  June  30, 
1902,  was : 


Regular  Army .     5,  870 


6, 025 


Total 11,  895 


A  computation  made  in  the  Office  of  the  Commissioner  of  Pensions 
in  connection  with  the  records  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  shows 
that  36  per  cent  of  those  dying  did  not  leave  pensionable  depend- 
ents. As  this  percentage  will  probably  hold  good  for  the  War  with 
Spain,  we  must  deduct  from  the  above  total  of  those  who  died  in 
service  4,282,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  number  of  individuals  who 
attained  a  pensionable  status  by  date  of  discharge  or  muster-out. 

Referring  again  to  the  records  of  The  Adjutant  General's  Office 
we  find  that  the  number  of  men  discharged  for  disability  during 
this  period  was : 

Regular  Army 8, 103 

Volunteers 4,  862 


Total _ 12,  965 

The  number  of  1899  Volunteers  found  with  disability  at  date  of 
muster-out  was  586.  The  records  do  not  show  the  results  of  the 
examinations  of  the  1898  Volunteers  at  muster-out. 

The  above  figures,  then,  will  give  us  a  total  of  21,164  persons  who 
had  attained  an  actual  pensionable  status  at  date  of  discharge  or 
muster-out. 

There  were  wounded  during  the  period  under  consideration  2.645 
Regulars  and  2,032  Volunteers.  In  figuring  the  number  acquiring  an 
actual  pensionable  status  this  figure  is  disregarded,  because  it  is 
not  known  how.  many  of  this  number  are  included  in  those  discharged 
for  disability  or  how  many  wounds  constituted  actual  pensionable 
disability. 

6.  NUMBER  OF  PENSION  APPLICATIONS  FILED. 

Table  1  shows  the  number  of  applications  received  on  account  of 
all  wars  from  June  30,  1899,  to  June  30,  1905.  Also  the  number  of 
pensions  granted  during  this  period.  The  total  number  of  applica- 
tions received  for  this  period  was  373,083,  and  the  pensions  granted, 
297,222,  a  percentage  of  pensions  granted  to  applications  filed  of 
79.6  per  cent. 

Table  5  gives  the  number  of  applications  filed  on  account  of  the 
War  with  Spain  credited  to  Army  invalids  and  to  widows,  etc.,  from 
June  30,  1899,  to  June  30,  1905,  and  for  the  War  of  the  Rebellion, 
from  June  30, 1862,  to  June  30, 1868.  We  can  therefore  obtain  com- 

525 


parative  figures  for  these  two  wars  for  the  first  seven  years  after 
the  beginning  of  hostilities  in  each. 

(a)   War  of  the  Rebellion  (first  seven  years)  ; 
Claims  filed— 

Invalids 134,  300 

Widows,  etc 162,454 

Total 296,  754 

CLums  granted — 

Invalids —  84,  427 

Widows,  etc 116,  499 

Total 200,926 

Percentage  of  pensions  granted  to  claims  filed,  67.7  per  cent. 
(6)   War  with  Spain  (first  seven  years)  : 
Claims  filed— 

Invalids 69,  687 

Widows,  etc 10,  248 

Total 79,  935 

Claims  granted — 

Invalids 18,  510 

Widows,  etc 5,416 

Total 23,  926 

Percentage  of  pensions  granted  to  claims  filed,  29.9  per  cent. 

The  percantage  of  invalid  pensions  granted  to  claims  filed  was : 

(a)   War  of  the  Rebellion,  per  cent 62.  8 

(6)    War  with  Spain,  per  cent . 26.5 

The  percentage  of  widows,  etc.,  pensions  granted  to  claims  filed  was  : 

(a)   War  of  the  Rebellion,  per  cent 71.7 

(6)   War  with  Spain,  per  cent 52.8 

Among  the  causes  for  this  great  difference  between  claims  filed 
and  pensions  granted  the  two  which  are,  undoubtedly,  of  most  im- 
portance are: 

(1)  That  the  Army  in  the  War  with  Spain  constituted  only  a 
very  small  percentage  of  the  total  population,  while  in  the  War  of 
the  Kebellion  it  constituted  a  very  large  one,  and  (2)  that  maAy 
Spanish  War  soldiers  and  their  dependents  claimed  pensions  who 
were  not  entitled  to  them.  This  latter  fact  will  appear  more  clearly 
as  we  proceed. 

Table  3  shows  the  applications  received  year  by  year  from  June 
30,  1899,  to  June  30,  1913,  credited  to  the  War  with  Spain.  This 
includes  both  the  Army  and  the  Navy,  but  as  the  number  for  the 
Navy  is  undoubtedly  small  it  may  be  disregarded. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  table,  that  the 
number  of  claims  filed  up  to  June  30,  1899,  only  14  months  after 
hostilities  began,  was  larger  by  2,829  than  for  any  other  year.  The 
next  largest  number  was  for  1901, 14,157.  This  latter  year,  of  course, 
included  many  of  those  mustered  out  of  the  1899  Volunteers.  With- 
out doubt  the  vast  majority  of  the  applications  filed  during  1899 
pertain  to  the  period  covered  by  the  hostilities  with  Spain,  proper — 
April  21,  1898,  to  April  11,  1899.  Of  this  number,  also  it  is  evident 
that  few  came  from  men  serving  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  since 
almost  the  entire  Infantry  of  the  Regular  Army  was  in  the  Philip- 

625 


12 

pine  Islands  by  June  30,  1899,  and  the  1899  Volunteers  had  not  yet 
been  organized.  In  addition  to  this,  those  organizations  of  the  1898 
Volunteers  sent  to  the  Philippine  Islands  in  the  early  expeditions  had 
not  yet  been  returned  to  the  United  States.  While  our  information 
is  by  no  means  complete,  we  can  find  the  approximate  number  to 
whom  the  claims  filed  up  to  June  30,  1899,  should  be  credited. 

From  what  has  been  said  above,  it  is  evident  that  the  vast  major- 
ity of  the  16,986  claims  filed  by  June  30,  1899,  must  have  come  from 
(1)  the  1898  Volunteers  (less  the  organizations  of  this  force  actually 
in  the  Philippine  Islands),  (2)  the  men  of  those  regular  organiza- 
tions serving  in  the  Philippine  Islands  who  were  discharged  for  any 
cause  before  their  organizations  were  sent  to  the  Philippines,  (3)  the 
men  of  the  regular  regiments  which  did  not  go  to  the  Philippine 
Islands  and  were  either  still  in  service  or  who  had  been  discharged 
and  were  in  the  United  States,  (4)  also  members  of  the  organiza- 
tions of  the  1898  Volunteers  serving  in  the  Philippines  who  had  been 
discharged  before  June  30.  1899,  (5)  also  the  dependents  of  those 
men  who  had  died  in  service  before  June  30,  1899.  Let  us  see  if 
we  can  make  any  estimate  of  what  this  number  of  possible  appli- 
cants was. 

The  total  regular  force  which  served  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico 
during  the  hostilities  with  Spain  was  approximately  17,688.  Of 
this  number  it  is  estimated  that  only  about  25  per  cent  went  to 
the  Philippine  Islands  with  their  organizations  in  the  early  part  of 
1899,  the  remaining  75  per  cent  having  either  died  or  been  discharged 
for  various  reasons.  Thus  about  13,251  men  of  the  Cuban  and 
Porto  Rican  forces  (or  their  dependents)  were  in  a  position  to  file 
applications  for  pensions  by  the  date  in  question.  Of  the  1898 
Volunteers  there  were  18,819  serving  with  their  organizations  in 
the  Philippine  Islands.  This  number  deducted  from  the  total 
number  of  1898  Volunteers  leaves,  in  the  United  States,  204.416. 
The  number  belonging  to  the  various  organizations  serving  in  the 
Philippines  who  died  or  were  discharged  before  June  30,  1899,  and 
who  (or  their  dependents)  were  in  a  position  to  file  claims  for  pen- 
sions, was  6,872.  Combining  these  figures  we  have  13.251  Regulars 
and  211,288  Volunteers,  a  total  of  224,539  individuals  who,  on  or 
before  June  30,  1899,  were  in  a  position  to  file  applications  for  pen- 
sions. Since  the  number  of  applications  filed  up  to  that  date  was 
16,986,  the  percentage  of  applications  filed  to  the  total  number  of 
individuals  in  a  position  to  apply  for  pensions  was  7.5  per  cent, 
certainly  a  very  large  percentage  within  14  months  after  hostilities 
had  begun. 

In  connection  with  the  large  percentage  of  Spanish  War  soldiers 
who  filed  applications  for  pensions,  the  report  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Pensions,  dated  September  10,  1901,  says: 

525 


13 

Much  criticism  has  been  visited  upon  Spanish  War  soldiers  by  reason  of  the 
promptness  with  which  they  filed  claims  for  disabilities  and  by  reason  of  the 
large  percentage  of  claims  filed  considering  their  short  service  and  the  absence 
of  battle-field  casualties  as  compared  with  the  Civil  War.  Only  a  little  over  three 
years  have  passed  since  hostilities  began,  and  yet  claims  amounting  to  about  20 
per  cent  of  the  number  of  men  enlisted  for  the  Spanish  War  have  been  filed. 

It  is  believed  that  the  percentage  given  by  the  Commissioner  of 
Pensions  is  too  large.  Apparently  he  has  considered  only  the  1898 
Volunteers,  which  would  give  a  percentage  of  19.3,  which  is,  he  says, 
nearly  20  per  cent.  There  were,  however,  a  large  number  of  men  in 
addition  to  the  1898  Volunteers  who' were  in  a  position  to  file  applica- 
tions which  the  commissioner  does  not  take  into  account.  However, 
that  the  percentage  of  claims  filed  for  pensions  was  much  larger  than 
it  should  have  been  there  is  no  doubt. 

The  Bureau  of  Pensions  has  roughly  tabulated  the  number  of  ap- 
plications filed  from  10  of  the  1898  Volunteer  regiments  up  to  June 
30,  1900.  Table  4  shows  this,  together  with  other  data,  with  respect 
to  these  regiments.  The  total  number  of  claims  filed  from  these  or- 
ganizations was,  roughly,  6,000,  or  19.9  per  cent  of  the  total  number 
of  applications  filed  for  the  War  with  Spain  up  to  that  date.  The 
percentage  of  the  strength  of  these  10  regiments  to  the  strength  of  the 
1898  Volunteers  was  5.8  per  cent. 

By  reference  to  Tables  4  and  5  we  find  that  these  10  regiments 
filed  a  total  of  6,000  applications  up  to  June  30,  1900,  out  of  a  total 
number  of  applications  credited  to  the  War  with  Spain  to  that  date 
of  30,025.  The  total  number  of  individuals  enlisted  in  these  10  regi- 
ments Avas  13,076,  or  about  4  per  cent  of  the  number  of  individuals 
employed  in  the  War  with  Spain  up  to  that  date.  That  is,  with  a 
strength  of  only  about  4  per  cent  these  regiments  filed  applications 
amounting  to  19.9  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  applications  filed 
up  to  June  30.  1900.  Only  three  of  these  regiments  saw  any  active 
service,  and  of  these  only  9.6  per  cent  of  their  total  strength  acquired 
a  possible  pensionable  status  by  reason  of  death  or  discharge  for  dis- 
ability. Yet  their  percentage  of  applications  filed  to  their  strength 
was  47.4  per  cent.  In  the  seven  regiments  which  saw  no  active  serv- 
ice, 4.3  per  cent  had  acquired  a  pensionable  status  by  date  of  dis- 
charge and  are  credited  with  45.2  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of 
applications  filed  by  the  10  regiments.  That  is,  while  5.3  per  cent 
more  per  total  strength  in  those  regiments  which  had  had  active 
service  acquired  an  actual  pensionable  status  by  date  of  muster  out. 
their  actual  applications  for  pensions  amounted  to  only  2.2  per  cent 
more  than  those  regiments  which  had  seen  no  active  service  at  all. 
It  is  evident,  then,  that  so  far  as  these  particular  regiments  are  con- 
cerned, the  number  of  killed,  died  of  wounds,  and  wounded  had  little, 
if  any,  bearing  on  the  number  of  applications  for  pensions  filed. 
Nor  is  it  believed  that  these  particular  regiments  differed  materially 

525 


14 

from  other  regiments  of  the  1898  Volunteers.  It  seems  impossible 
then,  to  escape  the  conclusion  that  the  1898  Volunteers  were  very 
prompt  to  file  applications  for  pensions,  and  that  an  unusually  large 
percentage  of  them  to  total  strength  did  file  them.  To  those  who 
were  familiar  with  the  conditions  obtaining  at  the  time  of  muster- 
in  and  muster-out  of  these  organizations,  as  the  Commissioner  of 
Pensions  remarks  in  the  above-mentioned  report,  the  cause  for  this 
state  of  affairs  is  not  difficult  to  find.  Before  the  Volunteers  were 
mustered  in,  they  were  examined  physically,  and  it  was  explained 
that  one  of  the  reasons  for  the  examination  was  to  prevent  the  sol- 
dier from  filing  a  claim  for  pension  for  a  disability  supposed  to  have 
been  contracted  in  service  when  he  really  had  the  disability  before 
he  entered  the  service.  The  impression  left  on  the  mind  of  most 
men  was,  undoubtedly,  that  the  Government  expected  them  to  make 
an  application  for  pension  eventually,  else  why  this  care  to  safe- 
guard itself  against  false  claims.  In  addition  to  this  they  were  all,  of 
course,  familiar  with  the  fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  soldiers 
of  the  Civil  War  were  drawing  pensions.  But  what  brought  the  ap- 
plications in  so  promptly  was  this :  At  every  camp  where  Volunteers 
were  mustered  out,  a  great  swarm  of  agents  lay  in  wait  and,  in  many 
instances,  actually  fought  with  each  other  for  the  privilege  of  han- 
dling the  application  for  a  pension,  which  they  used  every  endeavor 
to  persuade  each  discharged  soldier  to  make.  These  agents  received, 
at  this  period,  $25  for  each  pension  claim  which  was  allowed.  As 
the  soldier  knew  that  the  law  provided  that  he  should  receive  a  pen- 
sion should  he  have  contracted  any  disability  in  service,  and  believ- 
ing that  the  Government  expected  him  to  make  an  application  should 
he  be  entitled  to  it,  it  was  probably  not  a  very  difficult  matter  for 
these  agents  to  persuade  many  of  the  discharged  men  to  try  for  a 
pension  whether  he  was  suffering  from  a  disability  or  not.  The 
wonder  is  that  more  men  did  not  apply  for  pensions  than  actually 
did.  That  thousands  applied  without  proper  grounds  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  the  percentage  of  Army  disability  pensions  granted 
to  claims  filed  for  the  period  to  June  30,  1905,  credited  to  the  War 
with  Spain,  was  only  26.5  per  cent,  while  the  percentage  of  pensions 
granted  to  claims  filed  for  all  other  classes  for  the  period  above  cited 
was  91.5  per  cent. 

7.  NUMBER  OF  PENSIONERS  ON  THE  ROLLS. 

Table  6  shows  the  total  number  of  pensioners  on  the  rolls  credited 
to  all  wars  for  each  year  from  June  30,  1899,  to  June  30,  1914,  and 
the  number  of  pensioners  on  the  roll  for  the  same  period  credited 
to  the  War  with  Spain. 

The  total  number  of  pensioners  of  all  classes  and  for  all  wars  on 
the  rolls  on  June  30,  1914,  was  785,239.  The  total  number  credited 

626 


15 

to  the  War  with  Spain  on  this  date  was  28,910.  The  number  of 
invalid  pensioners  credited  to  the  War  with  Spain  was  24,250.  The 
number  of  invalid  pensioners  credited  to  the  Army  alone  for  the  War 
with  Spain  was  23,511  and  of  dependents  4,403.  For  this  period  the 
highest  number  of  invalid  Army  pensioners  was  in  1914,  23,416.  The 
highest  number  of  dependent  Army  pensioners  was  in  1909,  4,845. 
The  greatest  annual  increase  for  pensioners  for  the  War  with  Spain 
was  in  1901,  4,658.  The  yearly  gain  for  total  pensioners,  War  with 
Spain,  has  continuously  decreased  since  1908.  In  1914  there  were 
87  less  pensioners  on  the  rolls  for  the  War  with  Spain  than  in  1913. 
There  is  a  continuous  increase  in  the  number  of  invalid  pensioners 
for  this  war  from  1899  to  1915.  The  increase  in  1915,  however,  was 
only  124. 

After  giving  this  brief  resume  of  the  condition  of  the  Spanish  War 
pension  rolls  it  will  be  necessary  to  see  if  we  can  make  some  sort  of 
comparison  of  the  proportion  of  pensioners  on  the  rolls  to  the  number 
of  individuals  employed  in  the  last  two  years. 

8.  PERCENTAGE  OF  PENSIONERS  ON  THE  ROLLS  16  YEARS  AFTER 
THE  BEGINNING  OF  HOSTILITIES  FOR  (a)  WAR  OF  THE  RE- 
BELLION AND  (b)  WAR  WITH  SPAIN. 

To  a  greater  degree  than  we  found  it  to  be  in  the  War  with  Spain 
is  the  number  of  individuals  employed  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
a  matter  of  estimate.  Many  estimates  have  been  made,  some  of  them 
differing  very  widely.  That  made  in  the  report  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Pensions  for  1882  is  probably  as  reliable  as  any  of  them,  and  we 
will  use  the  figure  deduced  in  that  report  for  the  purposes  of  the 
following  computations.  The  report  gives  the  number  of  individuals 
employed  as  2,046,969.  To  this  figure  is  added  the  16,442  men  in 
service  in  the  Regular  Army  and  Navy  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war, 
giving  a  total  of  individuals  employed  of  2,063,391.  This  figure,  of 
course,  includes  the  Navy,  but  as  there  are  no  data  available  which 
will  give  us  the  number  of  individuals  employed  in  the  Navy,  the 
total  figure  will  have  to  be  employed  in  the  following  computation. 

For  the  War  with  Spain  we  will  use  the  figure  deduced  in  section  4 
of  this  paper,  381,531.  This,  of  course,  includes  only  the  Army,  but 
as  we  have  no  data  on  the  Navy  this  figure  will  have  to  be  used. 

In  order  that  the  comparison  may  be  as  fair  as  possible,  a  period 
has  been  selected  which  is  the  same  number  of  years  after  the  begin- 
ning of  hostilities  for  each  war.  The  number  of  years  selected  is  16, 
which  will  give  us  the  year  1877  for  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  and 
1914  for  the  War  with  Spain.  As  no  "  service  "  pension  laws  had  been 
passed  up  to  1877,  the  laws  under  which  pensions  were  granted  for 
both  wars  were  practically  the  same  at  the  period  selected  for  each 
war. 

526 


16 

(a)  War  of  the  Rebellion. 

The  total  number  of  pensioners  borne  on  the  roll  on  June  30,  1877, 
was  214,693.  This  includes  all  pensioners  on  the  rolls  except  the 
pensioners  for  the  War  of  1812.  A  certain  number  must  be  de- 
ducted, therefore,  for  the  War  with  Mexico  and  the  Indian  wars. 
In  no  place  in  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Pensions  for  1877 
does  this  number  appear.  In  House  Report  No.  64,  Forty-fifth  Con- 
gress, second  session  (1878),  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  pensioners 
for  the  War  with  Mexico  is  given  as  11,000.  In  the  report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Pensions  for  June  30.  1914,  the  number  of  sur- 
vivors for  the  War  with  Mexico  and  for  the  Indian  wars  is  given  as 
practically  the  same.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  there  were  about 
the  same  number  for  each  of  these  wars  on  the  roll  in  1877.  If,  then, 
we  deduct  20,000  from  the  total  of  214,693  as  given  above,  we  will 
probably  come  very  near  the  number  of  pensioners  for  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion  borne  on  the  rolls  on  June  30,  1877.  This  will  give  us 
a  figure  of  194,693. 

Using  this  figure  will  give  us  a  percentage  of  pensioners  to  num- 
ber of  individuals  employed  of  9.5  at  a  period  of  16  years  after  the 
beginning  of  hostilities. 

(b)  War  with  Spain. 

The  total  number  of  pensioners  on  the  rolls  for  the  War  with  Spain 
on  June  30, 1914,  was  27,915.  This  would  give  us  a  percentage  of  pen- 
sioners to  the  number  of  individuals  employed  of  7.3  at  a  period  16 
years  after  the  beginning  of  hostilities. 

It  would  appear,  then,  that,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  indi- 
viduals employed  (as  nearly  as  this  number  can  be  estimated),  the 
number  of  pensioners  on  the  roll  for  the  War  with  Spain  16  years 
after  the  beginning  of  hostilities  was  less  than  that  for  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion  at  the  same  length  of  time  after  the  beginning  of 
hostilities  for  the  war,  the  percentages  standing  9.5  for  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion  and  7.3  for  the  War  with  Spain. 

9.  AMOUNTS  DISBURSED  FOR  PENSIONS. 

The  amount  disbursed  for  pensions  for  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1914,  was  $163,377,551.53.  The  amount 
disbursed  for  pensions  for  the  War  with  Spain  for  this  year  was 
$3,907,510.53. 

The  total  amount  disbursed  for  pensions  proper  for  all  wars  up  to 
June  30,  1914,  was  $4.633,511.926.71,  and  the  total  cost  of  adminis- 
tration was  $127,938,472.79,  or  a  total  cost  to  the  Government  for 
our  pension  system  of  $4,761,450,399.50.  (Report,  Commissioner  of 
Pensions,  1914.) 

525 


17 

10.  PROBABLE  FUTURE  COST  OF  THE  PENSION  LIST  FOR  THE  WAR 

WITH  SPAIN. 

It  only  remains  to  endeavor  to  make  some  estimate  as  to  what  the 
future  cost  of  the  pension  system  for  the  War  with  Spain  is  likely 
to  be. 

In  the  nature  of  things  this  must  be  a  very  rough  sort  of  a  guess. 
By  the  use  of  the  "  mortuary  tables  "  in  common  use  by  life  insurance 
companies  we  can  ascertain  the  approximate  date  when  the  last 
survivor  will  have  died,  since  we  know  the  average  age  at  which 
they  entered  the  service.  But  we  have  no  such  information  with 
regard  to  the  ages  of  the  dependents.  Again,  no  one  can  forecast 
the  action  of  Congress  in  regard  to  pensions.  Up  to  this  date  no 
"  service  "  law  has  been  passed  for  the  War  with  Spain,  and  it  is 
possible  that  none  will  be.  If  we  judge  the  future  action  of  Congress 
by  what  its  action  has  been  in  the  past,  however,  we  are  justified  in 
expecting  that  such  action  will  eventually  be  taken. 

For  the  wars  prior  to  the  War  with  Spain  service-pension  provi- 
sions were  passed  as  follows:  War  of  1812  (14  days'  service),  on 
March  9,  1878;  War  with  Mexico  (60  days'  service),  on  January  29, 
1887;  War  of  the  Eebellion  (90  days'  service),  on  May  11,  1912. 

That  is,  in  the  case  of  these  three  wars  service-pension  provisions 
were  passed  an  average  of  50  years  after  the  ending  of  hostilities. 
The  sentiments  of  our  people  with  respect  to  the  pension  system  and 
political  methods  remaining  the  same,  we  may,  then,  reasonably 
expect  a  service-pension  bill  for  the  survivors  of  the  War  with  Spain 
to  be  passed  about,  say,  1950.  If  we  grant  that  this  will  occur,  we 
can  make  at  least  a  rough  estimate  of  the  number  of  survivors  who 
will  still  be  living  on  that  date  and  the  approximate  amount  that  the 
pension  list  will  cost. 

The  total  number  of  individuals  estimated  to  have  been  employed 
in  the  War  with  Spain  was  381,531.  .From  this  number  we  must 
deduct  the  number  of  those  who  deserted  during  the  war,  since  neither 
they  nor  their  dependents  are  entitled  to  pensions.  This  number  was 
17,599.  This  will  leave  at  the  end  of  the  war  363,532  possible  pen- 
sioners. By  the  use  of  our  "  mortuary  tables  "  we  will  find  that 
there  should  be  living  in  1950,  124,692  survivors,  since  238,840  will 
have  died.  However,  it  is  possible,  though  not  probable,  that  all 
of  these  survivors  (less  a  percentage  to  be  deducted  later)  will  .leave 
surviving  pensionable  dependents.  A  calculation  made  by  the  Com- 
missioner of  Pensions  in  1882  in  connection  with  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion  shows  that  36  per  cent  of  those  dying  do  not  leave  pen- 
sionable dependents.  In  order,  then,  to  ascertain  the  number  of 
pensionable  individuals  living  in  1950  we  must  deduct  85,982  from 
this  total.  We  will  then  find  that  we  may  have  in  1950,  277,550  pos- 
sible pensioners  still  living.  However,  all  of  these  will  not  apply  for 
pensions,  nor  will  they  all  be  living. 

525 


18 

The  largest  amount  paid  out  for  pensions  for  the  War  of  the  Re- 
bellion in  any  one  year  was  in  the  year  1913.  So  that  52  years  after 
the  beginning  of  hostilities  the  "  high  tide  "  of  pension  disbursements 
was  reached  for  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  In  that  year  the  total 
number  of  pensioners  on  the  roll  for  all  wars  was  820,200,  of  which 
number  762,331  were  credited  to  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  which 
would  be  36.9  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  individuals  employed 
in  that  war.  The  amount  disbursed  for  pensions  proper  for  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  for  the  year  1913  was  $164,897,872.48,  which 
would  make  the  average  annual  value  of  a  pension  amount  to  $216.30. 
The  total  cost  for  administration  and  maintenance  of  the  pension 
system  for  the  year  1913  was  $2,543,246.39.  This  would  make  the 
per  capita  cost  per  pensioner  amount  to  $3.10  for  that  year. 

With  the  above  data  as  a  basis  we  can  roughly  calculate  the  cost 
of  the  War  with  Spain  pension  roll  52  years  after  the  beginning  of 
hostilities  in  that  war,  bearing  in  mind  that  we  are  supposing  that 
the  same  conditions  as  to  longevity  and  laws  will  obtain  as  have  been 
found  to  exist  for  the  War  of  Rebellion  pensioners. 

In  1950,  then,  we  would  have  140,785  pensioners  of  the  War  with 
Spain  still  on  the  rolls.  To  them  would  be  paid  a  total  of  $30,451,- 
795.50  in  pensions.  The  cost  of  administration  and  maintenance 
for  the  War  with  Spain  for  this  year  would  amount  to  $436,433.50, 
making  a  total  disbursement  for  the  year  1950  for  this  war  of 
$30,888,229. 

On  the  same  basis,  then,  the  total  amount  disbursed  for  pensions 
for  the  War  with  Spain,  up  to  and  including  the  year  1950,  would 
be  $677,832,376.82,  and  for  administration  and  maintenance,  $10,242,- 
457.98,  which  would  make  a  total  cost  to  the  Government,  for  this  war 
to  and  including  1950,  of  $688,074,834.80. 

TABLE  1. — All  wars. 

Table  showing  the  total  number  of  applications  for  pensions  filed, 
total  number  of  pensions  granted,  total  number  of  pensioners  on  the 
roll,  and  the  total  amount  paid  for  pensions  proper  on  June  30  of 
each  year  from  1899  to  1914,  inclusive  (from  reports  of  the  Bureau 
of  Pensions)  : 


Year. 

Applica- 
tions filed. 

Pensions 
granted. 

Total 
pensioners. 

Amount  paid 
for  pensions. 

1899                                

63 
51 

58 
47 
52 
55 
52 

(' 
0 
h 

s 

(' 

,881 
.946 
,373 
,965 
,325 
,794 
,841 

37 
40 
44 
40 
40 
44 
50 
P 

h 

ji 
(i 

I 

,  O'/Y 
,645 
868 
,173 
,136 
,296 
,027 

> 
> 

991,519 
993,  529 
997,  735 
999,446 
969,  545 
994,  762 
998,441 
985,  971 
967,  371 
951,687 
946,  194 
921,  083 
892,098 
860,294 
820,  200 
785,239 

$138,  355,  052.  95 
138,  462,  130.  65 
138,531,483.34 
137,504,267.99 
137,  759,  653.  71 
141,093,571.49 
141,  142,  861.  33 
139,  000,  288.  25 
138,  155,  412.  46 
153,093,086.27 
161,  973,  703.  77 
159,974,056.08 
157,  325,  160.  35 
152,  986,  433.  72 
174,  171,  660.  80 
172,417,546.26 

1900                                                            

1901                              

1902                                                

1903                      

1904                                    .   .   .  :  

1905                                                    

1906                          

1907                                     

19^g                                                       

1909     ...                     

191§                                         

1911                                                        

U12                       

Ifl3                                       

1H4.  

i  No  data. 


525 


19 


TABLE  2. — War  with  Spain. 

Table  showing  applications  for  pensions  filed,  pensions  granted, 
and  number  of  pensioners  on  roll  on  June  30  of  each  year  from  1899 
to  1914,  inclusive,  for  the  Army  for  the  War  with  Spain  (from 
reports  of  Bureau  of  Pensions) : 


Year. 

Applica- 
tions 
filed. 

Pensions 
granted. 

Number 
pension- 
ers. 

Paid  for  pen- 
sions. 

1899: 
Invalids  

15,009 

125 

117 

$8,852.41 

2,551 

178 

165 

16,972.06 

1900: 
Invalids                                                            

12,038 

801 

822 

145,  460.  54 

1,383 

710 

845 

170,562.64 

1901: 
Invalids        

12,814 

2,795 

3,344 

644,315.04 

Widows  etc                        ...  .            

1,834 

1,240 

1,981 

476,  914.  68 

1902: 

10,  210 

3,441 

6,282 

1,121,499.79 

Widows,  etc  

1,395 

884 

2,727 

536,  452.  50 

1903: 
Invalids                             

7,728 

3,415 

8,798 

1,468,368.56 

Widows,  etc  

1,282 

936 

3,488 

634,  126.  10 

1904: 
Invalids  

6,152 

4,013 

11,946 

2,147,332.08 

Widows  etc                

938 

885 

4,187 

825,983.17 

1905: 
Invalids 

5,736 

3,920 

15,  138 

2,457,638.71 

Widows  etc                     

865 

583 

4,540 

806,  604.  92 

1906: 
Invalids                         

0) 

(0 

17,038 

2,508,428.09 

Widows,  etc  

0) 

0) 

4,715 

787,952.60 

1907: 
Invalids                      

(i) 

(1) 

18,393 

2.533,410.75 

Widows  etc    

0) 

0) 

4,775 

789,997.06 

1908: 

(1) 

(1) 

19,857 

2  698,394.73 

Widows  etc                 

(1) 

0) 

4,840 

797,024.38 

1909: 
Invalids        

w 

0) 

21,264 

Widows  etc 

(1) 

M 

4,845 

Vs  3,  820,  169.80 

1910: 
Invalids                        

(1) 

(1) 

22,063 

Widows  etc 

(1) 

(0 

4  817 

J2  3,  807,  919.  91 

1911: 
Invalids 

(1) 

(1) 

22,644 

2,999,776.96 

Widows  etc    

0) 

M 

4,817 

787,431.05 

1912: 
Invalids  

0) 

0) 

23,097 

3,021,362.75 

Widows  etc        .         

(1) 

(1) 

4,734 

789,612.03 

1913: 
Invalids        

(1) 

(1) 

23,416 

3,  130,  866.  45 

Widows  etc 

(1) 

irf 

4  586 

780,066.43 

1914: 
Invalids                        ... 

(1) 

(1) 

23,512 

3,019,167.05 

Widows  etc 

(1) 

(1) 

4  403 

726  829.98 

i  No  data. 

«  Amounts  paid  for  pensions  for  these  years  show  only  as  total  for  Army  and  Navy  combined. 

TABLE  3.— War  with  Spain. 

Table  showing  the  number  of  applications  for  pensions  filed  on 
June  30  of  each  year  credited  to  both  Army  and  Navy  for  the  War 
with  Spain,  from  1899  to  1913  (from  data  furnished  by  the  Bureau 
of  Pensions)  : 


Year. 

Applica- 
tions filed. 

'Year. 

Applica- 
tions filed. 

1899  . 

16,  986 

1907 

4,170 

1900 

13,039 

1908 

4  472 

1901  

14,  157 

1909.  . 

4,207 

1902                                                

11,055 

1910 

3  372 

1903 

8,546 

1911 

2  878 

1904  

6,774 

1912  .. 

2,710 

1905 

6,309 

1913 

2  465 

1906  

5,302 

525 


20 


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21 


TABLE  5. — War  of  the  Rebellion  and  War  with  Spain. 

Table  showing  the  number  of  applications  for  pensions  filed  and 
of  claims  allowed,  credited  to  the  Army  alone,  for  the  first  seven 
years  after  the  beginning  of  hostilities  in  (a)  War  of  the  Rebellion 
and  (£>)  War  with  Spain.  Also  the  percentage  of  claims  granted  to 
claims  filed. 

[From  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Pensions.] 
(a)  WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION. 


Year. 

Claims 
filed. 

Claims 
allowed. 

Percent- 
age of 
claims 
allowed 
to  claims 
filed. 

1862: 
Invalids 

1,362 

335 

Widows,  etc  

1,000 

14.1 

1863: 
Invalids 

26,380 

3,938 

}_  _ 

Widows,  etc         ...                                                            . 

22,327 

3,630 

15.5 

1864: 
Invalids  

20,263 

16,770 

I            TI  e 

Widows  etc 

32,627 

22,198 

>          73.6 

1865: 
Invalids         ....              ... 

27,299 

14,962 

X                  Ct    0 

Widows  etc 

44  404 

24,693 

>         55.3 

1866: 
Invalids 

35,799 

22,645 

I         __ 

Widows,  etc  

28,732 

27,076 

}         T7 

1867: 
Invalids  

15,905 

16,  452 

1               «ft    C 

Widows,  etc 

20,265 

19,660 

>          99.8 

1868: 
Invalids  

7,292 

9,325 

V       140 

Widows  etc 

13,099 

19,242 

Total 

2%  754 

200,  926 

67.7 

(6)  WAR  WITH  SPAIN. 


1899: 
Invalids 

15  009 

125 

\ 

Widows,  etc  

2,551 

178 

/           L7 

1900: 
Invalids 

12  038 

801 

}" 

Widows,  etc  

1  383 

710 

11.2 

1901: 
Invalids  

12,  814 

2,795 

\ 

Widows,  etc 

1  834 

1,240 

|          27.5 

1902: 
Invalids  

10  210 

3,441 

x 

Widows,  etc  

1  395 

884 

/         37.2 

1903: 
Invalids  

7.728 

3,415 

1 

Widows,  etc  

1  282 

936 

V         48.2 

1904: 
Invalids  

6  152 

4,013 

Widows,  etc  

938 

885 

69 

1905: 
Invalids  

5  736 

3  920 

Widows,  etc  

865 

583 

V         68.2 

1 

Total  

79  935 

23  926 

OQ    Q 

525 


22 


TABLE  6. — War  with  Spain  and  all  wars. 

Table  showing  the  number  of  pensioners  for  the  Army  and  the 
Navy  in  the  War  with  Spain  and  the  total  number  of  all  pensioners 
for  all  wars  from  1898  to  1914.  Also  the  percentages  of  pensioners 
for  the  War  with  Spain  to  the  total  number  of  pensioners. 

[From  Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Pensions.] 


Year. 

Pensioners,  War 
with  Spain. 

Pension- 
ers, all 
wars. 

Percent- 
age pen- 
sioners, 
war  with 
Spain,  to 
total. 

Year. 

Pensioners,  war 
with  Spain. 

Pension- 
ers, all 
wars. 

Percent- 
age pen- 
sioners, 
war  with 

SPtoSi.t0 

Army. 

Navy. 

Army. 

Navy. 

1898.  .  . 

993,714 
991,519 
993,  529 
997,  735 
999,446 
969,  545 
994,  762 
998,  441 
985,971 

""6"  03 
.17 
.56 
.94 
1.3 
1.6 
2.04 
2.2 

1907  
1908  

23,168 
24,697 
26,  109 
26,  880 
27,  461 
27,831 
28,002 
27,915 

909 
968 
986 
1,009 
1,029 
1,019 
1,010 
995 

967,  371 
951,687 
946,  194 
921,083 
992,098 
860,294 
820,200 
785,239 

2.4 
2.6 
2.8 
3.0 
2.89 
3.3 
3.5 
3.6 

1899 

282 
1,667 
5,325 
9,009 
12,286 
16,  133 
19,678 
21,753 

17 

88 
279 
456 
576 
696 
813 
868 

1900 

1909  

1901 

1910  . 

1902 

1911 

1903     . 

1912  

1904 

1913  ..     . 

1905  

1914  

1906  .  . 

TABLE  7. — War  with  Spain  and  all  wars. 

Table  showing  disbursements  for  pensions  for  each  year  from  1899 
to  1914,  inclusive,  for  the  Army  and  for  the  Navy.  Also  the  total 
disbursements  for  administration  and  maintenance  of  the  Bureau  of 
Pensions  for  the  above-named  years. 

[From  Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Pensions.) 


Year. 

Pensions,  War  with  Spain. 

Administra- 
tion and 
maintenance, 
all  wars. 

Year. 

Pensions,  War  with  Spain. 

Administra- 
tion and 
maintenance, 
all  wars. 

Army. 

Navy. 

Army. 

Navy. 

1899. 
1900. 
1901. 
1902. 
1903. 
1904. 
1905. 
1906. 
1907. 

$25,  824.  47 
316,  023.  18 
1,121,229.72 
1,657,957.29 
2,  102,  494.  66 
2,973,315.25 
3,264,243.63 
3,296,380.69 
3,323,407.81 

$2,782.34 
16,882.07 
53,996.04 
80,488.99 
101,589.55 
133,  616.  53 
145,  754.  91 
145,  775.  84 
147,  749.  46 

$4,147,517.73 
3,841,706.74 
3,868,795.44 
3,831,378.96 
3,993,216.79 
3,  849,  366.  25 
3,721,832.82 
3,  523,  269.  51 
3,  309,  110.  44 

1908. 
1909. 
1910. 
1911. 
1912. 
1913. 
1914. 

Total 

$3,495.419.11 
13,820 
!3,807 
3,787,208.01 
3,810,974.78 
3,910,932.88 
3,745,997.03 

$158,  703.  87 
,  169.  80 
,  919.  91 
164,  043.  24 
160,111.27 
160,235.54 
161,513.50 

$2,800,963.36 
2,  852,  583.  73 
2,  657,  673.  86 
2,517,127.06 
2,  448,  857.  31 
2,543,246.39 
2,066,507.15 

236,831,408.51 

1,633,243.15 

1  Amounts  for  these  years  not  shown  separately  for  Army  and  Navy. 
'Disbursements  for  1909  and  1910  not  in  this  total. 

Total,  Army  column ...  . .  $36, 831, 408. 51 

Total,  Navy  column 1,633,243.15 

Total,  Army  and  Navy,  1909 3,820,169.80 

Total,  Army  and  Navy,  1910 3,807,919.91 


Total,  Army  and  Navy. 
525 


46,092,741.87 


23 


TABLE  8. — War  with  Spain. 

Table  showing  percentages,  from  the  close  of  hostilities  to  June  30, 
1914,  of  "  invalids,"  "  widows,  etc.,"  and  total  pensions  granted  each 
year,  to  the  total  number  of  individuals  employed  in  the  War  with 
Spain. 

[From  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Pensions  and  computations.] 


Year. 

Invalid 
pensioners. 

Per  cent  to 
strength. 

Widows, 
etc. 

Per  cent  to 
strength. 

Percent 
total  pen- 
sioners to 
strength. 

1902     

6,282 

1.7 

2,727 

0.7 

2.4 

1903                                    

8,798 

2.3 

3,488 

.9 

3.2 

1904                                                          

11,946 

3.2 

4,187 

1.1 

4.3 

1905                    

15,  138 

4.1 

4,540 

1.2 

5.3 

1906                                  ...            

17,038 

4.6 

4,715 

1.2 

5.9 

1907                         

18,393 

4.9 

4,775 

1.2 

6.2 

1908                                  

19  857 

5.3 

4  840 

1.3 

6.6 

1909 

21  264 

5  7 

4  845 

3 

7.0 

1910                             

22  063 

5.9 

4,817 

.3 

7.2 

1911 

22  644 

6  1 

4  817 

3 

7.4 

1912     

23,097 

6.2 

4  734 

.2 

7.5 

1913                                    

23  416 

6  3 

4  586 

2 

7.5 

1914  

25,512 

6.3 

4,403 

.1 

7.5 

TABLE  9. 


Year. 

Number 
of  pen- 
sioners 
all  wars. 

Cost  of 
administra- 
tion. 

Per  capita 
cost  per 
pensioner. 

Number  of 
pensioners 
War  with 
Spain. 

Cost  Of 
adminis- 
tration for 
War  with 
Spain. 

1899      . 

991,519 
993,  529 
997,  735 
999,446 
969,  545 
994,  762 
998,  441 
985,  971 
967,371 
951.  687 
»46,  194 
921.  083 
892,  098 
860,294 
820,  200 
785,239 

$4,147,517.73 
3,  841,  706.  74 
3,  868,  795.  44 
3,831,378.96 
3,993,216.79 
3,  849,  366.  25 
3,721,832.82 
3,523,269.51 
3,309,110.44 
2,800,963.36 
2,852,583.73 
2,657,673.86 
2,517,127.06 
2,  448,  857.  31 
2,543,246.39 
2,  066,  507.  15 

$4.18 
3.86 
3.87 
3.83 
4.12 
3.86 
3.72 
3.57 
3.42 
2.94 
3.01 
2.88 
2.82 
2.84 
3.10 
2.50 

282 
1,667 
5,325 
9,009 
12,286 
16,133 
19,678 
21,  753 
23,168 
24,  697 
26,109 
26,880 
27,461 
27,831 
28,002 
27,915 

11,  178.  76 
6,  434.  62 
20,  607.  77 
34,504.47 
50,618.32 
62,273.38 
73,202.16 
77,658.21 
79,234.56 
72,  609.  18 
78,588.09 
77,214.40 
77,440.02 
79,040.04 
86,806.20 
69,787.50 

1900 

1901    

1902           

1903  

1904      

1905 

1906  

1907     . 

1908  

1909     

1910... 

1911   

1912  

1913  

1914  

525 


24 

TABLE  10. — War  with  Spain  and  all  wars. 

Table  showing  the  following  on  June  30  of  each  year  from  1899  to 
1914,  inclusive.  For  the  War  with  Spain :  (a)  Number  of  "  invalid  " 
pensioners,  (&)  number  of  "widows,  etc.,"  (c)  total  gain  to  roll  for 
the  year,  (d)  total  loss  to  the  roll  for  the  year.  For  all  wars:  Total 
number  of  pensioners  on  the  roll. 

[From  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Pensions.] 


Year. 

War  with  Spain. 

Total  pen- 
sioners on 
roll. 

(o)Invalids. 

(6)  Widows, 
etc. 

(c)  Gain. 

(d)  Loss. 

1899 

117 
822 
3,344 
6,282 
8,798 
11,946 
15,138 
17,038 
18,393 
19.857 
21,264 
22,063 
22,644 
23,097 
23,416 
23,512 

165 
845 
1,981 
2,727 
^  488 
4,187 
4  540 
4,715 
4,775 
4,840 
4,845 
4,817 
4,817 
4,734 
4,586 
4,403 

991,519 
993,529 
997  735 

1900  

728 
4,658 
3,784 
3,277 
3,847 
3,545 
2,075 
1,415 
1.529 
1,412 
771 
581 
370 
171 

1901         .                        . 

1902 

999,446 
969,545 
994,762 
998,441 
985,971 
967,  371 
951,687 
946,  194 
921,083 
892,098 
860,294 
820,200 
785,239 

1903     

1904 

1905  

1906 

1907  

1908         ..  .             

1909 

1910         

1911 

1912  

1913        

1914 

87 

625 


o 


667382 


C/B 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


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STAMPED  BELOW 

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